Drunken Peach Waffles

On July 3rd we met up with some friends at our favorite vegan restaurant, only to find they were closed for the holiday.  This gave us an opportunity to try a new place that advertised lots of vegan options.   Unfortunately, we weren't wowed by the food.  However, we did enjoy an amazing drink that they served.  The ingredients were amaretto, bourbon, lemonade, peaches and mint.

The next day we wanted to recreate the drink for some folks that stopped by our house.  A quick google search turned up Martha Stewart's recipe which used canned peaches.  Really, Martha...canned peaches?  I was pretty sure the restaurant used poached peaches in their tasty beverage, so I went in search of a poached peach recipe that seemed close the the flavor profile I remembered.  Nothing matched, so I made my own version.

If you've never skinned peaches before, check out the directions from King Arthur.  It is a simple procedure where you place the ripe peaches into boiling water for about 30 seconds. When when they are ready.  Quickly move them to an ice bath and then you can easily remove the skins.  All this typing makes it seem more complicated than it is. 

Poached Peaches

1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup agave
3/4 cup water
1 oz rum
3 whole allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tsp lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla

4 ripe peaches

Directions:
Skin the peaches then cut them into quarters or smaller slices if you want to save on time.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Add the peaches and then cook them at low temperature (barely simmering).  The timing depends on how ripe the peaches are.  Ripe peaches will likely be done in 5 minutes as they will continue to poach in the hot liquid even when the stove is off.  If your peaches aren't ripe yet, expect 10-15 minutes.  They should start to soften, but still hold their shape.
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When I opened the refrigerator this morning and saw left over peaches and syrup, I decided to build a new recipe which we've named Drunken Peach Waffles.  To be honest, I used my favorite waffle recipe from Vegan Brunch as the base.  Because I could find Isa's recipe posted in numerous places online, I didn't worry too much about posting this version; however, I'm still recommending that you buy her cookbook.  It is great!

If you don't have malt syrup, you can sub: agave, maple syrup or rice syrup.

Drunken Peach Waffles inspired by Isa's Old-Fashioned Chelsea Waffles
2 cups non dairy milk (I used almond)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons barley malt syrup
1 tablespoon of poaching syrup from the peach recipe above
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 chopped poached peaches plus extra for garnish (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl, use a fork  mix the milk, vinegar, oil, peach syrup and barley malt.  The malt is difficult to work with, so it may take some elbow grease.

Add remaining dry ingredients and mix everything until batter is smooth.

Fold in the chopped poached peaches.

Cook waffles according to waffle iron instructions!
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For the syrup on the waffles, I took the remaining poaching liquid and reduced it over a low temperature while making the waffles.  This made for thicker consistency.

As you can see, I sliced a poached peach and served it on top. 

These are delicious!